and now a thousand years between

Led Zeppelin is a band I often write off as having heard all of their songs ad nauseam and don't ususally expect the little spark such as I got when randomly listening to this song a couple weeks ago. "Tangerine" is from Led Zeppelin III, an album criticized for having a lot of acoustic tracks, and I suppose that reaction stems from people liking their heavier side, and understandably so. However good they were when they played heavy, this song is just as effective sans distortion and drum bombast. The heartsick lyrics go so well with the citrus-sweet guitar and when the drum and bass appear for the chorus the emotional content of the song takes on an almost palpable presence. A few interesting things I have gleaned from the internet regarding this song: "Tangerine" was originally a song worked on by Jimmy Page while he was in the Yardbirds, and there is some consternation as to the actual author, (not the first song with this problem either). Also, the little false start- sounding thing at the begining is supposedly the best song written by Page and Plant, but it was erased - and they threw the little bit left in the begining of "Tangerine". Lastly, if you listen closely as the song starts, you can hear Bonham counting the beats. Great, thats enough trivia, now play the song.

Led Zeppelin - Tangerine